Sunday, November 27, 2011

Monday morning I stopped by one of my very favorite friend's houses to pick up the beautiful center piece she made me for Thanksgiving. I hadn't seen her in a while but I didn't really think she would notice that I have lost weight. We've been friends for a lot of years and it wouldn't be like her to notice.

When I got there she was getting her hair done. We use the same gal. We were chatting as she got her hair done and they started talking about the diet my friend, D., has been on. they both said it was AMAZING and that D. had shrunk quickly. Mind you, I have never seen D. bigger than a size four and she is usually smaller than that. She has always exercised and has done every diet and fast known to man.

When I asked what the diet was, D. responded that it is called the Superhuman Diet. I have since looked up the Superhuman Diet online and couldn't find it but here's is the gist of it. Eat only veggies and lean protein and nothing processed...... except for one Diet Coke a day. Now fruit, dairy or grains. The biggest dealio though is that you have to take a cold shower twice a day. Apparently, the cold shower is horrific. I can imagine.

I've lost close to thirty-five pounds. I do eat dairy and fruit....... no grains, but warm showers. I really love my warm showers. Hmmm, but nobody asked about what I'm eating. Pretty sure that I am sometimes completely invisible.

Monday, November 21, 2011

I think it's been less than twelve hours since I said I probably wouldn't post again until after Thanksgiving but here I am anyway! I got on the scale this morning and I had finally reached 225 again. A few things are going through my mind as I hit this milestone weight.

First, it's probably not as big of a milestone as the last time I hit it. I had creeped past 250 pounds so 25 pounds is no longer a ten percent weight loss. It's more than ten percent which is a good thing but it doesn't really feel good because it means that I had gained even more weight over the past couple of years.

It's been a year and a half since I last weighed 225. It was when I reached this goal before that I cheated once, twice, a million times before it wasn't cheating any more. I read yesterday that it takes our bodies about a year to recover from dieting. Calorie restriction leads to our metabolism getting all wacky and that the urge to gorge intensifies after a little slip. Seems about right, doesn't it?

Quite honestly, I probably weighed 220-225 when D. was born so I haven't weighed less than this in five and a half years. That's a tad intimidating. So now I face the food holiday armed with the knowledge that I am at a historically weak point. If I want to be successful, this is not a good time to have sausage dressing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie with a mountain of whipped cream on top!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

I am a fan of the Nutrition Diva on Facebook and if you're not you should be. She rocks. Always makes sense and calls things out the way they are not what the medical community or government wants you to believe. I haven't read any of her books or listened to her podcasts but I find the articles and research information that she posts on Facebook interesting.

I just scoured her page looking for an article that I read last week about ho we lose weight evenly throughout our body and the shape we are fat is the same shape we are skinny except on a different scale. There are always exercises or routines touted to shrink a certain spot but the truth is, the only way to shrink a specific spot more than others is to have it surgically removed. Anyway, I couldn't find that article but I found another with the best advice I have ever heard.

The trick to losing weight is to start at the finish line. Or in other words start with the end in mind. First you have to think about why you want to lose weight and what you will do when the weight is lost. How will you maintain your weight loss? What will you eat? I know that my goal weight is 140 pounds. To maintain that, I will have to eat between 1,800 and 2,100 calories a day and exercise 4-5 hours a week with moderate intensity. I can imagine myself having yogurt and blueberries every morning, a salad for lunch and a protein, veggies and fruit for dinner with a delightful bowl of ice cream for dessert after my kiddos have gone to bed. I can totally do all of this now. I imagine myself running three miles a day and swimming a couple of times a week as well. I think Zumba would be fun. I can't run yet. At least not very far. I made it about a block today but I can swim and I can try Zumba.

I guess it's really just another twist on the 'not a diet but a lifestyle change' line but it seemed to work better for me.\

Happy Thanksgiving. I doubt I'll write again before the big diet buster day. I am thankful for so many things but this year I am going to really focus on my ability to make choices. I am thankful that I can choose not to eat myself to oblivion and still enjoy the holiday with my family.

Monday, November 14, 2011

I haven't written in a while. It took me until last week to start working out again. I did make it five days last week but my headaches had started again. I guess I hadn't cured my diabetes. Go figure. Anyway, the headache has subsided, no bloody noses and my weight is down ever so modestly but now the holidays are here.

Thanksgiving is next week. I wish it was just a 'skip a dessert and all is good' sort of day but it's not. It's a carboholics nightmare.... or dream depending where you are in your addiction. Just preparing the food (and tasting it to make sure it's palatable) could probably throw me into a coma. From the traditional sausage stuffing that I have over indulged in every year of my life to the brandy spiked sweet potato casserole, it's as if there is danger lurking in every calorie. Not to mention all of the snacks. Good grief. I should just have it catered and then fake the flu so I can stay in my bed. I suggested to my brother, that visits with his family every year at Thanksgiving, that we should rebel and grill fillet mignon along with mashed potatoes (which I can easily skip and my sister-in-law likes to make) and green beans, He didn't go for it. I was kind of surprised. Does anyone really even like the traditional all labor intensive Thanksgiving meal? Seriously, if you were in a restaurant with a full menu and roasted turkey with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing, cranberry sauce, gravy and a roll was on the menu, would you choose it over steak? I think not! That's why it's not on the menu. I guess with the traditional meal, I can be thankful for the fact that I survived it's preparation and that we have lots of kids to do the dishes.

I'd really like to lose another 17 pounds by the end of the year so that in itself should keep me from too much risk to my health. I so, so, so want to be below 200 pounds by my birthday. It's a long shot at this point but I still want it enough to work for it.

Past Thoughts

About Me

I am a mom. Before I was a mom, I was pretty skinny and found that 98% of my time was my own. My daughters range in age from 9-19 and I have very little time to myself. I have also weighed over 220 pounds for the past decade, topping out at about 265. This year, I intend to change that. I will faithfully use my Weight Watchers Ap from September 2015 through August 2016. I'm hoping to lose 122 pounds so that my weight again matches what is on my Driver's License.